Mariners’ Josh Naylor Under Fire After Tigers Incident

Richard Dizon-Imagn Images

Mariners’ Josh Naylor Under Fire After Tigers Incident

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tate Mosher | Last updated Jun 6, 2026 7:00 PM ET

After their game versus the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon, the Mariners advanced to 34-31 on the season. They currently hold first place in a weak American League West.

A year removed from a run to the ALCS, it’s the team's hitting that’s been the issue. The Mariners’ 270 runs scored this season ranks 16th in MLB . While players like Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez are doing their part, there are some that are not.

The most glaring of that group is first baseman Josh Naylor. The 28-year-old signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with Seattle this offseason. Now 65 games into their season he has not only been lacking in production but also been a bit of a headache as of late.

Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) © Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

In Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers, Naylor fielded a ground ball deep in the hole at first base. Instead of tossing the ball to his pitcher Bryan Woo for the sure out, Naylor opted to sprint towards the bag himself. He got there just in time for the out, but collided with Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle in the process.

In Saturday’s game Naylor pulled another Bush League move, this time throwing his sliding mitt at Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler in hopes of potentially distracting him. Naylor slid in safely to put the Mariners up 3-0 in the third inning.

His next plate appearance in the fifth inning, Naylor was promptly thrown at by Tigers’ starter Keider Montero. The 96 MPH four-seam fastball hit Naylor square in the back of the shoulder. It’s worth noting that Montero has only thrown 15 pitches that hard the entire season.

Detroit infielder Colt Keith said that he has seen Naylor do some questionable things on the diamond before, but that he didn’t think Montero meant to hit him. This was reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

Colt Keith on Josh Naylor: "You like him if you're his teammate, and you hate him if you're the other team. I've seen him do some questionable, borderline dirty baseball stuff, but I think he plays hard. He's just trying to get in our heads. I don't think Keider (Montero) hit him…
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) June 6, 2026

The Seattle slugger has played poorly to start the season, compiling a .254 batting average and .318 on-base percentage with a .676 OPS. He has 6 home runs and 25 RBI.

The Mariners still have another game to go in Detroit, Sunday at 1:40 p.m. EDT.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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